Gates 38163 DriveAlign Automatic Belt Drive Tensioner

I drive a 2006 Jeep Wrangler with 4.0L engine. I have reached 85,000 miles and had already replaced the serpentine belt. I have read that it is also recommended I replace the idler pulley and automatic belt tensioner.The Gates 38163 is almost completely identical to the original OEM Chrysler/Mopar part.Here is my experience installing it.Things you'll need:* 1/2in drive breaker bar* 3/8in. drive ratchet wrench* 3/8in. drive Torx T40 bit* (optional) new small rubber grommet* (optional) thread locking compoundFirst, it is a good idea to take a picture of your serpentine belt and how it winds around your engine and pulleys.. There is supposed to be a belt routing diagram on your radiator, but often this label is often damaged. A picture is worth a thousand words.Depending on your tools, it may be easier to remove the fan shroud and clutch fan so they won't get in the way. I won't cover this here.Insert the square part of your breaker bar tool into the square hole in the middle of the tensioner arm. You turn the breaker bar to tighten the arm spring and remove tension from the belt. While holding your breaker bar, carefully remove the belt from one of the pulleys - then carefully relax the arm. Remove your breaker bar. The tensioner arm (and serpentine belt) is now ready for removal.Attach a high quality Torx T40 bit to your ratchet and carefully remove the bolt securing your old tensioner arm to your engine. Take care not to strip the head as you loosen the bolt! You will reuse this bolt on your new belt tensioner.Once you've released your old tensioner arm, do not remove the bolt from tensioner arm yet. Carefully examine the threaded side on your bolt - there is supposed to be a small rubber grommet (or "O-ring") on the threaded side hugging the bolt. Many guides online do not mention this rubber ring! I am not entirely sure what the purpose of this rubber ring is, but I suspect it is used to dampen the vibration between the tensioner arm and engine and/or to help keep the bolt in place. If this small rubber grommet is missing or damaged, you could use a small O-ring seal normally used in plumbing like kitchen and bathroom sinks. An assorted size pack of O-rings is common and inexpensive. If you still have the original rubber grommet in good condition, carefully separate the rubber grommet from the bolt. Once separated, you may now remove the bolt from the tensioner arm.After removal, while examining my original belt tensioner I was able to spin the pulley very freely with my hand - this means that the bearings no longer had sufficient grease to lubricate them. With the brand new pulley, the pulley turns easily as I use my hand, but I could not spin it. This means my new Gates belt tensioner's bearings are well greased for the job.Reinstall bolt into your new Gates tensioner arm. Lightly lubricate the small rubber ring and carefully slide as far as you can into threaded end of bolt. If you want, you may now apply thread locking compound at this point (I didn't feel it was necessary). Attach new Gates tensioner arm to your engine, hand tighten Torx bolt, then use ratchet to finish tightening it. You do not need to use a lot of force to tighten it, just tighten to reasonable amount. I found some sites with a torque specification but I found this to be much tighter than original, so I didn't trust this - I recommend to just tighten to reasonable amount you can do with your single arm alone with ratchet. Don't put your weight on it! You never want a broken bolt stuck in your engine! Also careful not to strip the Torx head!Once your new Gates tensioner arm is bolted back on, reinsert the breaker bar and wrap the serpentine belt back onto all the pulleys. You remembered to take a picture, right? Refer to your photo or belt routing diagram on your radiator. One hint is that the grooved side of the belt will only ride on grooved pulleys and conversely the smooth side of the belt will only ride along smooth pulleys. Release the arm, remove your breaker bar, examine everything - and you should be done.In case you stripped your T40 bolt or need a new belt routing diagram sticker, below are the parts you can get from your dealer:6507743AA - belt tensioner T40 bolt53031700AB - belt routing diagram sticker for 4.0LIt's much easier than I made it sound. But do the job right! I hope this review helps others! :-)

I am not sure I would buy this again.Compared to the original, the bolt hole in the center is larger.there is a rubber washer that sits between the engine and the tensioner, and does not allow the bolt to be pulled through without removing the washer. This item allowed the bolt with washer to be removed separately.Perhaps not a problem, as the alignment studs fit perfectly, which should mitigate any vibration.Not sure of the net effect, but it was different enough for me to question it.Otherwise, the pulley itself looked identical. It works, but I will stick to OEM if it fails.

Concerning the actual Gates tensioner, it is a great part and works great. However, I had to pick it up at my local parts store after returning what I received here from Amazon. I received from Amazon a completely different part number, not even close to what I ordered or that is listed here.

Had my old tensioner pulley freeze up and destroy the belt. Got this and put it on, works great, I always trust Gates! Used on an 04 Grand Cherokee WJ 4.0 and its just like factory. KEEP IN MIND for this tensioner to be installed you'll need a TORX socket!

Low mileage OEM tensioner bad squeal after deep puddle. Perfect identical replacement made in Canada same as OEM. Easy replacement.